Help on an RV and Dish

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R

Riker

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Dec 22, 2004
59
5
So my dad was told that Dish for his RV would be terrible. The RV service people say go with direct tv cause dish is very hard to lock in. I just can't imagine it being any harder. Is there something they are missing or are they just biased etc. Any special eq.
Any input would be great cause I don't want to see him having to pay for two accounts.
Thanks
R.
 
Some of their older dishes were really set up for DirecTV. Modern stuff does just fine with Dish. To echo the above, your best bet is probably a ViP211K receiver and a Tailgater dish setup. It will aim itself at the appropriate satellite. And you can connect an external hard drive if you want DVR functionality.
 
I full time RV. When comparing standard definition, Direct TV had an advantage in that it only used one satellite. You could build a pretty basic dish platform out of pvc and align by holding it in your hand and listening to the receiver. Dish Network used two satellites and took a bit more precision and time to set up (ten minutes instead of five).

Nowadays, everyone wants HD so it takes a little more effort and better equipment to set up a dish for RV'ing. I have Dish Network and a Tailgater for short stays or traveling. When I'm going to stay somewhere for a week or more, I'll set up a 1000.4 dish on an adjustable tripod. It takes about ten minutes to set up and level, then another five minutes to point.

To each his own.
 
Dish is far more suited to RVers than DirecTV. Dish has an RV specific support team. Dish has Pay-As-You-Go for part-timers.

If you have an older dome, it can receive HD on the satellites you can see. Some of the domes can be setup to see all three WA satellites.

DirecTV cannot use domes for HD.

For ground tripods, the ease of setup would probably be about the same.

The VIP211K/Tailgater is a good package for the part-timer.

If the dad spends a lot of time in the RV, then a VIP622/722 might be a better fit as the bedroom can be driven from the TV2 output. A ground tripod would be needed for a VIP622/722.

We full-time and until last year when we installed a Winegard Trav'ler automatic dish, I setup a DPPro 1000 at every stop even for just overnight. Good tools, easy job.

This year we replaced the VIP722K and VIP612 with a Hopper and Joey so we can have a common recording repository and HD on both TVs.
 
Brussam said:
Dish is far more suited to RVers than DirecTV. Dish has an RV specific support team. Dish has Pay-As-You-Go for part-timers.

If you have an older dome, it can receive HD on the satellites you can see. Some of the domes can be setup to see all three WA satellites.

DirecTV cannot use domes for HD.

For ground tripods, the ease of setup would probably be about the same.

The VIP211K/Tailgater is a good package for the part-timer.

If the dad spends a lot of time in the RV, then a VIP622/722 might be a better fit as the bedroom can be driven from the TV2 output. A ground tripod would be needed for a VIP622/722.

We full-time and until last year when we installed a Winegard Trav'ler automatic dish, I setup a DPPro 1000 at every stop even for just overnight. Good tools, easy job.

This year we replaced the VIP722K and VIP612 with a Hopper and Joey so we can have a common recording repository and HD on both TVs.
Click to expand...

X2 to this. And we followed almost exactly the same route right down to the Travler and Hopper/Joey.
 
I have been using Dish with my camper almost since day one. One cinder-block, two C-clamps, and a Dish 500 that my neighbor wanted off his roof. I used to struggle with set-up when using the receiver's signal-strength meter, but spending $40 on a cheap satellite meter and a compass cured that problem. Not all that hard to set-up. With practice, you can be up and running in just a few minutes.

I sure would like to have a Tailgater, though ... :whistle:
 
Brussam said:
Dish is far more suited to RVers than DirecTV. Dish has an RV specific support team. Dish has Pay-As-You-Go for part-timers.

If you have an older dome, it can receive HD on the satellites you can see. Some of the domes can be setup to see all three WA satellites.

DirecTV cannot use domes for HD.

For ground tripods, the ease of setup would probably be about the same.

The VIP211K/Tailgater is a good package for the part-timer.

If the dad spends a lot of time in the RV, then a VIP622/722 might be a better fit as the bedroom can be driven from the TV2 output. A ground tripod would be needed for a VIP622/722.

We full-time and until last year when we installed a Winegard Trav'ler automatic dish, I setup a DPPro 1000 at every stop even for just overnight. Good tools, easy job.

This year we replaced the VIP722K and VIP612 with a Hopper and Joey so we can have a common recording repository and HD on both TVs.
Click to expand...
X3 to this also. We started with a 211k and upgraded to a Hopper & 2 Joeys.

However, HD ground tripods -- Dish or Direct -- can be "problematic" (i.e., difficult) to set up because of acquiring multiple sats. Folks who have had Dish for a while seem to make the transition from SD to HD easier than their DirecTV counterparts. I think it's because a DirecTV SD dish can be set up by essentially throwing it on the ground. This has changed with HD. It can be a PITA for Dish and DirecTV users, but it seems more so for DirecTV owners. RV forums are loaded with posts from DirecTV users so frustrated with trying to set an HD tripod that they just stick with SD.
 
Yes a single LNBF dish has no skew adjustment.

The issue with multi-LNBF dishes is the skew and that starts from having to have a stable vertical mast. Unless you spend your whole time on level pavement, a tripod with adjustable legs is about the only way to get the mast vertical and be stable. When I see people setting up their tripods using stones and wood shims to level the mast, I know I am going to see them refocusing the dish in a few hours. So much for the cinder block tripod.

With the mast vertical, I preset the skew and haven't bothered to tweak it in over 6 years of setups.

I use water ballast to hold the dish stable. Two 5 gallon buckets with about 3 gallons each provide for 40+ lbs of ballast and yet I don't have to carry that weight when traveling.

The biggest killer was in the beginning with DPPro 500 and one of those cheap meters. Those meters can be okay if the the correct LNBF is being selected in multi-switch in the dish head. Not knowing that, I tried the tin foil trick and sometimes gave up using the lowest signal on the meter and getting reception. The default selection voltage is satellite 110 on the cable and I was aiming for 119.

When I learned on how the multi-switch can put any of the LNBFs on any of the output cables, I found a smart meter that I could force the 119 LNBF for aiming. With that, I could setup the TV dish without even going into the trailer (letting the boss do her thing) until I was done and needed to run the switch check.

The other thing about multi-LNBF dishes is the aiming. With a single LNBF dish without any skew is the arm is a pointer for the dish. The addition of a second LNBF adds skew and now the arm does not point anywhere in the direction of the satellite. The 15 degree bounce off of the dish face moves the aiming direction to the right of the arm. The mount of the back of the dish is the best indicator for the azimuth. But that adds the problem of getting the compass close to the dish which adds deviation of the compass reading. I have found that depending where you are, the deviation can add up to 19 degrees on the compass reading (ex. a target azimuth of 220 with be found with the compass reading 239). Not compensating for deviation will often start you off aimed at 110.

I had an Align-A-Sight with my HughesNet tripod and bought a second adapter for the DPP500. The Align-A-Sight Azimuth compass is close to the dish so deviation is still present but with the compass card, if I am off (110 or 129) it is easy to set the 9-10 degree change and get 119 the second time. It is hard to see 9-10 degrees in space.

As for the comments I hear that a triple LNBF dish is harder to aim, that is so false. If you hit 119 and the skew is set correctly, you will have 110 with the DPPro500 and 110 & 129 with a DPPro1000. The only thing about a DPPro1000 is that the Azimuth, Elevation, and Skew settings are not in the receiver. You have to use the dish manual to get those numbers or use a smartphone application. They are different from a DPPro500.
 
Brussam said:
. . . I found a smart meter that I could force the 119 LNBF for aiming. With that, I could setup the TV dish without even going into the trailer . . .

As for the comments I hear that a triple LNBF dish is harder to aim, that is so false.
Click to expand...
Without a good meter, it can be hard.
 
Thanks for all the info. My dad is rather stuck in he does not want to have to do anything other than flip a switch. Is there a recommended automatic stationary (doesn't have to watch on the go) roof top mount that will get the hd on dish?
Thanks again.
Don
Also does anyone know if Dish has started to allow Vip units on Hopper homes for Rv's?
 
I use an Acutrac 22 Pro which has the provision for the 22 KHz tone for the 119 selection. I don't even use the second cable input. But I would like an First Strike FS1 meter which can read the satellite ID.
 
It's more difficult pointing a 211 at a single satellite than it should be. Not sure if it's because of the huge delay in reporting signal strength or a software problem. It seems sometime mine won't show ANY signal unless I do a checkswitch first. I took it camping and it took a long time to get aimed. Often wouldn't even show the satellite I wanted (72.7) in the list. Finally got it by having 61.5 selected, and when 72.7 was found it would show "not locked, wrong satellite - 72.7". Then doing a checkswitch would fix it.

When I brought the receiver back home and plugged it in to my fixed home dish (dual focus), the point dish screen wouldn't show any signal until I did a checkswitch.

Can be very frustrating indeed. Was MUCH easier with the older receivers.
 

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